I have not written much over the past few weeks as there hasn’t been much to write about. As many of you know, a judgment in our case was delayed from July 13 to September 18. At the moment, we are simply waiting the next court date and praying for a final judgment.

The summer has proven a little adventurous and a little taxing. Each day that passes brings a new dimension to the emotional struggle we all have been experiencing since the abduction occurred. I am astonished at the children’s ability to both cope with and comprehend the situation, but am terribly saddened that at their young ages they must wrap their minds around the complexities of abduction. Please join me in praying over their precious hearts and minds.

As for me, I’ve been interviewing for work and continue to await an opportunity to generate an income while we remain here. Otherwise, I am keeping myself busy with other means of supporting our efforts. That is intentionally cryptic, and as I often say, I cannot wait for the day that I can share the details. Until then, please know that every single effort you have made on our behalf has made a tremendous difference. When Eslam, Zainab and I arrive home in the U.S., it will most certainly be due to the support that each of you continues to give us.

With that said, I am writing once again to ask that you assist us by contacting both your own Senators and Representatives, and some specific Senators, per the message below (NOTE: There are 5 items below).

As always, and most sincerely, THANK YOU!

With love and appreciation,
Édeanna (Eslam and Zainab)

1. Please copy and paste the following into the subject line of a new email message:

Urgent Request for follow-up: 2 US children hostage in Tunisia

2. Please copy and paste the following email addresses into the address line (these are the legislative aides to the Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee):

3. Please copy and paste this message into the body of the email and add your name below “Sincerely,” (note that there are media links that should be included in this pasted message):

September 5, 2012

Dear Senator,

I am writing again to seek your immediate assistance in obtaining the return of 2 abducted American children being held hostage in Tunis, Tunisia. You may recall that on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, the FBI listed Faical Chebbi on the Most Wanted Fugitives list for international parental kidnapping. The State Department, the US Embassy in Tunisia, and the FBI have been working diligently since November 2011 to obtain the return of Eslam (6) and Zainab (3) Chebbi, who were abducted during a court ordered weekend visit with their father.

Imagine if someone you loved swept you away on vacation to a foreign country and then detained you, and prohibited you from contacting anyone you know or love. The world would not hesitate to act on the violation of your human rights. I am asking for you to act, without hesitation, to protect the human rights of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi.

Your efforts on behalf of these American children have helped, but more must be done. As the Chebbi’s await another court hearing on September 18, 2012, it is clear that further advocacy from you, President Obama, and Secretary Clinton are essential to ensuring that these innocent children come home.

I am asking you to advocate on behalf of Eslam, Zainab, and their mother, Édeanna Chebbi with the Tunisian government, immediately. Highlight this issue as the human rights violation that it is and make it clear that through Tunisia’s response to this case it is setting a precedent with relations between our two countries.

Ten months after their abduction, Eslam and Zainab remain without constant contact with either parent. Édeanna remains in Tunisia since January 2012, but is allowed overnight contact with only one child at a time. Each day that passes Eslam and Zainab suffer the mental, emotional and physical turmoil of this abduction. Each court delay, each passive response from the government, increases the suffering of two innocent children who are anxious to return to their family and home in the United States.

I am begging again for your immediate intervention, in any manner, on behalf of Eslam, Zainab and Édeanna with the Tunisian government.

Sincerely,

4. Please use this link to find the contact page for your U.S. Senator.

5. Copy the letter from 3. (above) and paste in a message to both of your U.S. Senators.

Then, copy and pastethis message in the content area of the contact form (select “Homeland Security” as the subject).

Don’t forget to add your name to the bottom of the letter. (There is a word limit indicated, but the form appears to accept the message regardless. Please let us know if you have any trouble with submission).

As always, your support means a tremendous deal to us. Thank you again and again for adding your voices to our struggle!

I am writing on behalf of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi. It is now 7 months since their abduction to Tunisia without resolution. There are enforceable warrants and orders for the return of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi that have been submitted to your office for enforcement.

I am asking that you act immediately and definitively to ensure that the judicial magistrate rule on these warrants and enforce them for the return of these children to their home in the U.S.

My tax dollars are presently supporting your government’s efforts at democratization. There is no democracy without human rights. Please respect the rights of these American children, and use all of your authority to ensure their immediate return to the U.S.

Secretary Clinton,
I am writing on behalf of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi (OCS 2011 319 2852). It is now 7 months since their abduction to Tunisia without resolution. There are enforceable warrants and orders for the return of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi that have been issued to the Tunisian government.

Given the vast amount of U.S. tax dollars contributed to the Republic of Tunisia, I am asking that you use all the powers of diplomacy in your capacity, to ensure that the Tunisian government respond to and enforce any Federal or State issued court order pertaining to the return of these U.S citizens.

This video features the case of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi, and highlights the disjointed rhetoric of politics and diplomacy where the lives of innocent American children are at stake. Further details can be found at www.returnushome.com or www.facebook.com/returnushome.

I am writing on behalf of Édeanna M. Chebbi, the left-behind parent of two U.S. citizens, Eslam (5) and Zainab (3) Chebbi, who were abducted to the Republic of Tunisia in November 2011.

As you are well aware, Édeanna has been fighting a legal and diplomatic battle for the return of Eslam and Zainab to the U.S. since their abduction six months ago. It is my intention to express my deep concern for the human rights of these two children and seek your assistance for their return. The case of these two children has already been resolved in the competent courts of authority in the United States, the country of their habitual residence prior to this abduction. Their immediate return to the their home is simply a matter of active diplomacy and respect of the human rights afforded in a system of democracy.

The number of abducted children from the U.S. to Tunisia has seen a rapid increase within the past 6 months. Returning Eslam and Zainab will make it clear to both the U.S. as any ally, and to the perpetrators of this heinous crime, that Tunisia stands for the rights of the child in such cases.

I am sure you are aware of the substantial monetary contribution that the U.S. is prepared to make to Tunisia in the coming months via proposed congressional bills (S. 618: Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund Act) and the reported commitment of support from Secretary Hillary Clinton ($1 million of aid through the IMF). I hope that you are also familiar with the proposed legislation, HR 1940.

HR 1940 is an important piece of legislation to left-behind parents, and amongst its many provisions is the right of the President to withhold distribution of monetary contributions to any country “engaged in a pattern of noncooperation regarding unresolved cases of international child abduction or denial of rights of access.”

I am highly in favor of proposed bill HR 1940, and desire to ensure that the financial contributions provided for in S. 618 not be compromised by the lack of action taken by the Tunisian government to return U.S. citizens who are illegally abducted to your country.

I am writing on behalf of Édeanna M. Chebbi, the left-behind parent of two U.S. citizens, Eslam (5) and Zainab (3) Chebbi, who were abducted to the Republic of Tunisia in November 2011. I understand that you recently led a congressional delegation to Tunisia where you met with top governmental officials to discuss the country’s progress toward democratization.

Édeanna has been fighting a legal and diplomatic battle for the return of Eslam and Zainab for six months. We are thankful for support given by Senator Barbara Mikulski and Ambassador Susan Jacobs during visits to Tunisia in 2012. While the efforts of these esteemed representatives have been both heartwarming and impactful, more advocacy is needed to ensure the return of these children, and the children of more than 4 other parents who have also been abducted to Tunisia since November 2011.

I am sure you are aware of the substantial monetary contribution that the U.S. is prepared to make to Tunisia in the coming months via proposed senate bill, S. 618: Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund Act. Additionally, you may be aware that Secretary Hillary Clinton is reported to be seeking $1 million in U.S. aid through the IMF on behalf of the Republic of Tunisia. Finally, it is my hope that you are familiar with the proposed legislation, HR 1940.

HR 1940 is an important piece of legislation to left-behind parents, and amongst its many provisions is the right of the President to withhold distribution of monetary contributions to any country “engaged in a pattern of noncooperation regarding unresolved cases of international child abduction or denial of rights of access.”

Congresswoman Pelosi, I am seeking your advocacy to the Tunisian Ambassador, Mohammad Tekaya; the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister Rafik Abdessalem; Prime Minister Jebali; and President Marzouki, for the immediate return of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi. I ask that you emphasize a desire to ensure that the financial contributions provided for in S. 618 not be compromised by the lack of action taken by the Tunisian government to return U.S. citizens who are illegally abducted to their country. Additionally, I hope that you will support HR 1940 when it comes before you in Congress.

I am writing to request your personal advocacy of Department of State case #: OCS 2011 319 2852 in support of H.R. 1940.

As of this writing, there have been four abductions from the northeastern region of the U.S. to Tunisia, the last three having occurred within the past four months, all from the DC/MD/VA region. There is reason to believe an additional abduction is pending, though no further information regarding this abduction is known (the State Department and FBI have been made aware of this).

On November 11, 2011, Faical Chebbi – a dual citizen of Tunisia and the United States of America – departed the U.S. with Eslam (5) and Zainab (3), declaring never to return them home. At present, I, Édeanna M. Chebbi, am in Tunisia fighting for the right to bring my children back to their home in the U.S.

I was granted sole physical and legal custody of my children by the consent of my ex-husband over a year ago. I fought for two years in the U.S. to ensure that my children and I would not be re-victimized by the domestic violence that necessitated our divorce. We are now suffering this re-victimization in Tunisia at the hands of a man who is unquestionably a criminal.

In the summer of 2011 when Faical applied for and obtained Tunisian birth certificates and passports for Eslam and Zainab, he did so as a U.S. citizen bound by U.S. law, for two U.S. citizens whom he had relinquished any right of legal authority over. Eslam and Zainab have always been U.S. citizens and their receiving Tunisian citizenship was illegal.

In addition to Faical’s personal confession for the criminal act of international child abduction (on file with the U.S. consulate, Tunis, Tunisia), the following facts would easily support senior U.S. officials in intervening with Tunisian authorities on our behalf – particularly in obtaining cooperation through Interpol for the children’s return:

On July 16, 2010, the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County, Maryland issued a court order preventing either parent from removing Eslam and Zainab from the United States. On November 17, 2011, the same court issued an order demanding the children be returned to Édeanna Chebbi utilizing all means of reasonable and necessary force. On November 18, 2011, Virginia State Police issued 2 warrants for Faical Chebbi for the criminal act of child abduction. On December 19, 2011, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a federal warrant for the arrest of Faical Chebbi for the act of international kidnapping. Finally, on January 4, 2012, The United States Attorney’s office issued a Prosecutor’s Agreement to Extradite for Faical Chebbi in upholding the federal warrant.

Each of these documents is incorporated in the aforementioned U.S. Department of State case file. Additionally, the Tunisian Interpol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of the Interior have received copies of Interpol yellow alerts for missing children, Eslam and Zainab Chebbi. The whereabouts of both children is well known, and Interpol has been notified of the address of their detention in Tunisia.

Congressman Smith, I request that you highlight these Tunisian abductions as an issue of grave concern at the Congressional hearing on March 27, 2012. I particularly request any and all emphasis be placed on the need for diplomatic and Congressional action in advocating for the return of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi. Tunisia stands to receive a significant financial contribution from the U.S. in its efforts to democratize following the Jasmine Revolution. It is inconceivable as a U.S. citizen that our country would support these efforts while ignoring their harboring of innocent American children.

Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

March 10, 2012

Dear Secretary Clinton:

I am writing in reference to DOS case #: OCS 2011 319 2852 regarding the international child abduction of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi.

I am asking for your personal advocacy on behalf of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi to the Tunisian government. I request that you utilize the personal confession of Faical Chebbi for the criminal act of international child abduction (on file with the U.S. consulate, Tunis, Tunisia) to advocate for the return of Eslam and Zainab to the U.S. The Tunisian Interpol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of the Interior, have all received copies of the Interpol red alerts for the detention and extradition of Faical Chebbi for the criminal act of international child abduction.

Please recall that Eslam and Zainab have always been U.S. citizens and that their receiving Tunisian birth certificates and passports were both crimes against United States law. At the time that Faical Chebbi applied for and obtained these documents, he did so as a U.S. citizen bound by U.S. law, for two U.S. citizens whom he had relinquished any right to legal authority over.

On July 16, 2010, the Circuit Court of Maryland in Prince George’s County issued a court order preventing either parent from removing either child from the United States. On November 17, 2011, the same court issued an order demanding the return of Eslam and Zainab Chebbi to Édeanna Chebbi utilizing all means of reasonable and necessary force. On November 18, 2011, Virginia State Police issued 2 warrants for Faical Chebbi for the criminal act of child abduction. On December 19, 2011, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a federal warrant for the arrest of Faical Chebbi for the act of international kidnapping. Finally, on January 4, 2012, The United States Attorney’s office issued a Prosecutor’s Agreement to Extradite with an Interpol red alert for Faical Chebbi in upholding the federal warrant. Each of these documents is incorporated in the case file in your department’s Office of Children’s Issues.

Eslam and Zainab Chebbi have been away from their home against their will and the will of their mother – their sole legal guardian – for far too long. If these were your grandchildren, how long would be long enough?

The body of evidence available for your advocacy on the behalf of Eslam and Zainab is clear and strong. Please act with urgency to request their expeditious return to the United States.